The Dave Brewster Series

by Karl Morgan

  “Obviously, we need to have very fast ships, or this option will fail. My Friends and I can examine that for a few days. Our goal would be to have a ship that can reach the other spiral in fifty spans or less. If we succeed and find a better location, it will be infinitely better than attacking an enemy with singularity weapons. Only our deaths lie there,” Mantarcus continued.

  “Very well, I suggest we pursue both paths,” Vanda replied. “It will take some time to build our resources enough to travel to either galaxy. That should provide time to build and launch such a spy ship. If that voyage fails or we find more advanced weapons there, we will invade the local spiral. Otherwise, we will build more resources and take over the second galaxy. Do we agree?”

  Chapter 8

  Dave and Lini were led from their cell to the shower facilities where they separated and prepared for another day in prison. Dave was told to shave and wear a clean uniform as they would be meeting with the Council of Elders after their breakfast. As he walked into the mess hall, he could see Lini talking with Anil Stanta at one of the long tables. Dave went through the cafeteria line and then sat next to Lini. He took a sip of coffee and said, “Good morning, Anil. How are you today?”

  “I suppose your wife hasn’t had the chance to tell you,” the old man replied. “We’re all going to meet the Council of Elders together. That’s not good news for you two. I’m a heretic who talks about the ‘you-know-who,’ and you two came here looking for them. It wouldn’t surprise me if we all get an instant death penalty. You’d better enjoy your breakfast; it might be your last.”

  “Do you think that could happen, Dave?” Lini asked.

  “If it does, I just hope Odo and Obu are ready to take us out of here,” he answered.

  “Do you think your friend can save me too, Dave?” Anil asked.

  “I hope so. If your story is true, you have done nothing wrong, Anil. Killing you would be cold-blooded murder,” Dave said. “Perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. This kind of speculation is going to kill us before we even get to stand before the Council. I cannot imagine what kind of charges they could stick us with that would warrant such brutality.”

  Anil looked off into the distance, as though trying to conjure an ancient memory. He turned and looked directly at Dave’s eyes. “I still remember my day in front of the Council of Elders. You would expect such a panel to be the best and brightest of our people.” He chuckled. “As in politics everywhere, that is never the case. Being on the Council of Elders was supposed to be a temporary thing to get new blood and ideas into the government. Every one of those Elders has been there for a long time. Once they get elected, it’s almost impossible to get rid of them.” Anil leaned toward the others and whispered, “It’s no secret which of them have that thing in their heads either. Just watch them and I wager you’ll figure it out too.”

  “So, they’re more like a ruling elite,” Lini said. “They use their political clout to maintain their positions and those of their friends.”

  “I suppose that’s not unusual,” Dave replied. “Politicians everywhere are focused on maintaining their power above all else. That’s why Mencius insisted on strict term limits within the Free Society.”

  “Good luck to them with that, Dave,” Anil laughed. “All governments project an air of altruism at first. Once they learn what they can get away with, they keep grabbing more and more power, always with the stated intention of the betterment of all. It just never seems to work out that way.”

  “Wow!” Lini gasped. “I’m sorry, but I’m just a simple girl from a small planet with no central government. Our villages are our homes and we only connect to other villages for trade and protection. Why does this stuff happen, Dave?”

  “Human nature, I suppose,” he answered. “Even people with excellent intentions can lose sight of what’s right when blinded by money and power.”

  “But money and power have nothing to do with Stit,” Anil noted. “At least it’s not with any of us. It is the ‘you-know-who’ that is pulling the strings on this planet. But we can’t talk about them anymore. Once you learn the naked truth about what they are doing here, you will know why they are so afraid of us.”

  §

  “We have a serious problem, Mencius,” Obu Neela said. The blue face of the President of the Free Society was staring back on the viewscreen.

  “What is the problem?” Mencius asked.

  “We have lost contact with Dave and Lini,” he replied. “I just spoke to them this morning, and now it feels like I am being blocked somehow.”

  “That is definitely bad news, Obu,” Mencius frowned. “We have to get that connection again and soon. God knows what will happen to them if we can’t extract them.”

  “I know you are right, old friend,” Obu sighed. “But this is highly unusual. It is like a dense fog has risen in the Source between here and the planet. That has to be impossible. The Source is not a physical place where such things can occur. I have been working to bring as many Hives online to work on this. But we must pray for Dave and Lini now.”

  “It will work out. I have faith in you, Obu. I know you and the Zula will find a way to break through the fog and extract them. Please keep me informed. Kalidus out.”

  Ulook squeezed Obu’s hand. They were sitting at the conference table under the dome in the Zula ocean-floor city on Zulanan. “Obu, I am not as confident as the President. But all is not lost. I only sense compassion in the fog. It stands to reason that evil cannot exist within the Source. Such idle emotions pass along with the flesh, leaving only love and joy.”

  “I understand your logic, dear Ulook, but if this fog is so benign, why is it blocking us from protecting our friends? It doesn’t make sense to me,” Obu replied.

  “I will grant you that it makes no sense at all. But we have never encountered such a force before. I think it would be hasty to assign less than noble intentions to it. We will continue to reach out to the fog and seek to learn what its intentions are. Unfortunately, there is little else we can do now.”

  Obu stood and began to pace behind the table. “I also found it interesting that you were unable to contact any Zula on Stit. If that place is a natural Hive, it will be the only one known where no Zula are present.”

  Ulook sighed. “Yes, that is another unfortunate circumstance. We have never encountered such things. The Nan are belligerent and oblivious to their Hive. There are no natural guardians protecting the Hive. And now a totally new force is blocking us from seeing the planet. Clearly, there is much more to learn about Stit and The Accord. Perhaps we can search the Source for the actual members of The Accord? Maybe there is a way they can be reasoned with.”

  “They may be the ones who are generating the fog in the Source,” Obu reasoned. “They certainly have the most to gain by blocking us.”

  “I doubt that they have the power to do so,” Ulook replied. “They seem more obsessed with self-gratification and quite removed from their spirituality. They do block our access inside their black planetoids with a fog that is remarkably similar to what we find near Stit. But all our searches showed no such Beings in the Small Cloud, other than the tiny brain robots Dave mentioned.”

  While they watched, another Zula swam into the antechamber and sealed the door. The ocean water quickly drained away and the creature began to twist and morph. After a few seconds, it had changed into a Nan man, who opened the inner door and pulled a robe onto his naked body. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Ulook.”

  “That’s quite all right, Zinka. Please join us. Is there a problem?” Ulook asked.

  Zinka sat across the table from the others and replied, “Not a problem, but news anyway. As you requested, we have been reaching out to the mist in the Source for several hours. Just a few minutes ago, it replied.”

  “What did it say? Do we know its intentions?” Obu asked.

  “We can’t be certain yet. It only said the word ‘Eon’ and then became silent again,” Zinka replied.


  “Well, that’s not much help,” Obu sighed. “It could mean a period of time or could it be a name? But there was something the last Friend of The Accord told to the Bandabar. My mind must be going. What was that?”

  “Eon was the name of the original Friend of The Accord,” Ulook replied. “According to Pik, Eon ultimately left The Accord when he saw how barbaric they were becoming.” She chuckled. “Too bad he was the only one of them with any common sense.”

  “You know what this means?” Obu laughed. “Perhaps Eon has returned to save Dave and Lini. But if he wants to help us, why is he blocking our access to the planet? He should have pulled them away already.”

  “For all we know, he has already done exactly that,” Ulook said. “Zinka, please focus our efforts on communicating with this Eon. If we work together, perhaps we can stop The Accord and save our friends.”

  §

  After breakfast, Dave, Lini and Anil were chained together and led outside the prison gates, where they were put on a bus with ten armed guards. The bus pulled away and headed into the city. This was the first time Dave had seen anything of Porcasta, the capital city of Stit. The area near the prison was residential with narrow streets and small homes clustered together in neighborhoods. The city looked very similar to other Nan cities with wooden buildings being the norm. The houses were very modest and small. Most had neatly manicured lawns and gardens. He imagined their backyards held vegetable gardens, as did the Elders’ homes on Nan and Fistnan.

  After fifteen minutes, the residential areas disappeared and taller stone buildings held apartments and small businesses. The streets were paved with cobblestones, making for a bumpy ride. As they approached the center of the city, the roads were much improved and the buildings became taller and more ornate. In the center of Porcasta, they crossed a major boulevard and pulled up to a tall iron gate. Two guards boarded the bus to make certain the prisoners were secured and the guards had appropriate papers. The bus was allowed into the compound and proceeded toward a massive marble building with a row of ornate columns at the entryway. The top of each column was covered with gold. Large numbers of elegantly dressed workers milled about outside the building as though waiting for the doors to open or a specific meeting time. The bus continued around the side of the building to a small metal door, where the prisoners were led off and into the building.

  The first thing Dave noticed was the coolness of the air conditioning. There were no such luxuries at the prison. They were moving forward in a narrow corridor. After a minute, the guards opened a small door and led the prisoners into the Council of Elders chambers. The room was very large. The eight Elders sat on a high bench on one end of the room. The walls of the room were covered with golden mosaics in different designs. The mosaic behind the bench appeared to show several Zula swimming a choreographed dance. Dave smiled and almost laughed when he saw the first evidence that Zula had been on this world. He wondered if they might still be here, hidden in some remote ocean. The other half of the room was filled with seats for the audience, which was murmuring about the three prisoners, all of whom were already infamous from the news coverage. The three were led in front of the bench and allowed to sit down.

  “Elder Palaba Quifer, this is your show,” another elder said. “Our prisoners are here. What do you want us to learn?”

  “Thank you, Chief Elder,” she replied. “Admiral Brewster and Ensign Dar, it is good to see you again. First, let me apologize for not being able to find better accommodations as I promised.”

  “Oh boy,” another elder scoffed. “Now Palaba is being nice to the prisoners. Let’s pass sentence and move on to new business.”

  Dave stood up and said, “Elders, if I may ask, what are we charged with?”

  The Chief Elder looked up and to the left for a second before staring back. “You are charged with sedition and witchcraft.”

  Another elder gazed off for a second and then said, “You have come here to enslave us all, Admiral. I dare you to deny that!”

  “I deny it, Elders,” Dave replied. “We came here in peace and one of your soldiers shot our friend. You put us in prison because one of your guards accidentally discharged his weapon? That seem ludicrous to me.”

  The Chief Elder was seething with anger. “Don’t worry about that man, Admiral. He has already been dealt with. Explain how you helped your wounded friend to disappear.”

  Lini stood next to Dave and pointed to the wall behind the Elders. “The evidence is right behind you but you don’t see it. Your beautiful mosaic of the swimming Zula proves your people once knew this planet was a natural Hive. If you know that, then you know its power.”

  Another elder chuckled, “It looks like we have another witch to deal with.” He waved his arm toward the wall behind him. “Those fish became extinct long ago. The Friends of The Accord ate them all.”

  Lini started to cry and Dave put his arm around her. Elder Quifer shouted, “Enough of these allegations, fellow Elders. These people came from other planets to help us. Just because we don’t understand them does not make them witches. Maybe they are telling the truth.”

  The Chief Elder laughed and most of the audience joined in. “Palaba, I often wonder why we continue to endure your foolishness on this Council.” He turned to the other elders and said, “I recommend we sentence all three to immediate execution for their crimes.”

  Anil stood and said, “Chief Elder, I have already been tried and have served most of my term. Why am I being bunched together with these witches? I have done nothing.”

  Those few words helped Dave to understand Anil’s words at breakfast. As soon as the last word fell from Anil’s mouth, six of the eight elders looked up and to the left for a second. They were communicating with The Accord! Only Palaba and the elder sitting next to her continued to watch the prisoners.

  “Anil Stanta, you have always been a pain in the ass,” the Chief Elder growled. “You have accused some of our citizens of being spies for The Accord. We have recorded evidence that you continue to spew your filth even inside the prison. You will never learn. You are as guilty as the other two.”

  “Please let me say one thing in my defense,” Anil said.

  “Okay, but just one thing before we pass judgment,” the Chief Elder replied.

  “Chief Elder Marko Bendar, are you of The Accord?”

  The same elders looked away for a second and the Chief Elder screamed, “How dare you accuse this Council of being spies? This is the ultimate act of treason. Death to them all!”

  “Deny it then!” Dave shouted.

  The six elders shouted, “Death! Death! Death!” The other two were crying and trembling in fear. The guards grabbed the prisoners and dragged them out of the room. The audience was dead silent. No one knew what to think.

  Rather than being taken back to the prison, they were led to a small park across from the Council Chambers, and led to a low wall that was heavily pocked with bullet holes. Lini was crying and holding on tight to Dave. Anil looked like a ghost. He knew this day was coming. His own premonition was coming true. Dave was reaching out with his mind to Odo and Obu. He was praying that Ulook or one of his friends would help them escape.

  A line of ten guards was checking their muskets while the six Elders hurried to witness the executions. A guard was approaching and Anil leaned toward Dave and whispered, “You saw it right? If you noticed it too, then others will learn and avenge us. Tell me you saw it!”

  As the guard pulled Anil away, Dave shouted, “Up and to the left. Yes, I saw it Anil.” The old man smiled as he was chained to the wall.

  He spat on the guard. “Chief Elder, your time is almost over! Everyone saw and everyone knows the truth. Deny that you are of The Accord! You can’t because you are! Admit it!”

  The muskets fired. Anil slumped dead on the wall, blood pouring from his wounds. Lini held tightly onto Dave and was kissing him again and again. “Dave, they’ll save us, won’t they?”

  “I hope so, darling. I
know they’ll try!” he replied as they pulled her toward the wall. A second guard put his pistol against Dave’s head to keep him from rushing toward her. “I love you, Lini!”

  She was sobbing uncontrollably. The guards looked very apprehensive about shooting a woman. But they knew their job and fate if they failed. “I wish I was back on Solander!” she shouted. The muskets fired. The balls rushed to her and smashed into the wall, but Lini was not there.

  The Chief Elder was laughing. “See men! I told you he was a witch. He saved his pretty girlfriend. Let’s see if he can save himself!”

  Dave was pulled over to the wall and chained in place. As he wondered about his future, he noticed the six elders looking away for a second. The Chief Elder told the guards to stand down and he walked over to Dave. “I have a bit of a reprieve for you, witch. But I think you would prefer death.” One of the guards approached and hit Dave in the head with the butt of his rifle. “The spaceship will be arriving soon. Make sure Dave Brewster is on board. We are finally rid of this bastard.” The elders walked back toward their Council building while two soldiers carried Dave away and the rest removed Anil’s body.

  Chapter 9

  Lini woke in a small room that was completely white. Even the bed, table and side chair were white. She examined her body but could not find any injuries. This did not seem like part of the Source, she thought. She must be alive, but where? A small door suddenly appeared in the wall and an elderly Nan walked through it. The door immediately disappeared again. “Who are you? Where are we?” she asked.

  “Where is a good question, Dar Lini,” he replied. “My name is Eon.” He walked over to the side chair and sat down. “I am so sorry for what my brothers have done.”

  “Eon, are you of The Accord?” she asked.

  He smiled and replied, “No, not any more. But I am afraid their existence is mostly my fault. I was the original Friend of The Accord. I gave that up a very long time ago, at least it seems like a long time. I had an idea for a different type of existence, one that did not feed on my own people. I took a step and now I am here, but honestly I have no idea where here is.”